JESC Winner last year, Special Guest this...
I am sure we will see Viki Gabor at Eurovision too!
As there are no press on the ground this year in Warsaw at Junior Eurovision 2020, the EBU are providing all of the information in the run-up to the Final of JESC, including great pictures like the above of Viki drawing the opening song, "Stronger With You" by Susan. Snippets of the rehearsals that were filmed previously either in the 12 nations or at the TVP studio in Warsaw are being shown but we did have the opportunity to see the Opening Ceremony on Sunday:
Viki was the stand out here with that incredible performance - the taste of the visual future perhaps? It was obvious that it took a lot of rehearsal time and being in exactly the right spot all the time but spectacular nonetheless. Viki kicked off this week's show and then I played my personal top three - have a listen and find out who that is...
The playlist? The JESC kicks off the show and then we have loads of Eurovision news to get through, hence this selection of artists:
"Superhero" - Viki Gabor
"Chasing Sunsets" - Chanel Monseigneur
"Aliens" - Arina Pehtereva
"Vidkryvai (Open Up)" - Oleksandr Balabanov
"Cœur sur toi" - Carla
"Grow" - Jeangu Macrooy
"Move" - The Mamas
"UGLY CRY" - VICTORIA
"Violent Thing" - Ben Dolic ft. B-OK
"Divlji vjetre" - Damir Kedžo
"Looking Back" - Aksel
"Voi Voi" - Nora Brockstedt
"Moustache" - Twin Twin
"Fai rumore" - Diodato
"Älskling" - LOVAD
"Më ngjyros" - Kamela Islamaj
"Amen!" - Krista Siegfrids
"How Do You Mend A Broken Heart" - Guys and Dolls
"On Fire" - THE ROOP
"L'amour est bleu" - Vicky Leandros
"Let Me Be The One" - The Shadows
Now you have listened to the show, here is my top ten for this year's Junior Eurovision:
- Jeangu Macrooy stays singing at #23;
- Where each nation was drawn in SFs (and voting therein) remain the same;
- Each artist will film their entry as per the JESC 2020 artists, just in case we have a Scenario D Eurovision in May; and
- We WILL have a Eurovision Song Contest to watch, whatever happens!
In my opinion, everything that was revealed by the EBU makes absolute sense in the current climate, given that we are still in the grip of a second coronavirus peak and that nobody knows when vaccinations might be in place. We in the UK have been given some positive news about vaccines near to approval but chances are that any large scale administrations of those jabs will not now happen until January at the earliest.
Bear in mind that if you are not a healthcare/social/care/emergency worker, have a health issue that you need protecting or you are under 50, chances are you will be at the back of the queue for COVID vaccines - that probably covers the vast majority of Eurovision fans who would be going to Rotterdam and sitting in the Ahoy.
The Dutch government will be the ones to watch here - what they say will go as far as tourists are concerned (because that is what us fans are) and tight restrictions might well apply to airlines/ships/trains too (Quantas have already said that when vaccines start being given, only those protected in that way will be allowed on their planes). Personally, I am still prepared for a Scenario D Contest - anything less restrictive is a bonus. Some things never change in a Eurovision season though - anyone for FiK just before Christmas?
There you go - my personal preferences based on the RTSH videos for this year's FiK in Albania. Therefor my top three are:
#1 Xhesika Polo - "Më mbron"
#2 Kamela Islamaj - "Kujtimet s'kanë formë"
#3 Era Rusi - "Zjarri im"
Of course performance and live vocals might well come into play on 17/18/19 December - I would not rule out Inis Neziri for instance, my #4, who has been winning competitions for fun over the past two years and FiK 59 might well be her time. Assuming that those dates are correct, there is only three weeks until our first selection process of the 2021 season! Until then, we found out that we had another Eurovision mummy last week! Krista Siegfrids gave birth to Lizzy van Nes on Monday 16th:
Congratulations to her and Rutger - I couldn't be more delighted for them both and they are already out and about with their new #babyamsterdam in The Netherlands! I played "Amen!" on the show and that song was part of the most inspired and entertaining introduction to any National Final I have ever witnessed - have a look if you didn't see UMK 2014 the first time:
I know no Finnish and yet I laugh every time I watch it - the visual comedy says it all!
As I said after playing the track, I cannot comprehend how it finished 10th out of 12, even though the jurors only got to hear the audio due to BBC strikes. Was "Mary Ann" by Black Lace really better than that? Dominic andMartine Howard were always the vocal powerhouses of Guys and Dolls but Julie Forsyth helped provide the other link to Eurovision for her and husband Dominic by writing the UK entry in 1988, "Go". The two of them provided backing vocals for Scott Fitzgerald that year and were involved in THAT voting sequence that eventually saw Celine Dion win the title. After that, Dominic turned to his other love of sculpting, producing a bust of his father-in-law for display in the London Palladium:
RIP Dominic Grant
Show 119 was so full of news that there was only time for new releases by VICTORIA and Carla (and that was only due to those artists being connected with the news of the day) - show 120 MAY see a return to the regular split but it is clear that the Eurovision season is really kicking in! I will start the show with the winning entry from JESC 2020 and reveal the artists selected for Serbia (you could have guessed for the last few months who that was going to be - and I'm delighted!). We also now know the first NEW artist for 2021 and also the first song title - having listened to the singer's back material, I am really excited to hear what "El Diablo" is going to sound like. As for the new artist? You'll hear something of her back catalogue next week on LET ME BE THE ONE...
I'm sure that Elena Tsagrinou won't be shy in May...
I'll talk more about the Cypriot artist on December 1st!